What Goes Up - Must Come Down
by CBloom2
Summary: This is based on one of my own nightmare scenario (even though, luckily, this hasn't happened to me). Angsty Jamie (you really expect anything else?) A smattering of big bro Danny. Hope you like...


**Hey everyone, I'm back with another offering.**

**This is based on something which is one of my worst nightmares although luckily it has never happened to me!**

**There will be some Jamie angst (surprised?) with a smattering of big bro Danny and maybe a light dusting of something else towards the end!**

**Hope it's ok - as always I am nervous about posting this.**

**Don't own anyone you recognise...unfortunately.**

**What Goes Up MUST Come Down...**

Jamie Reagan sucked in a deep breath as he stepped through the doors that had just opened in front of him, allowing him access to the theatre of his nightmares.

He had met up with his older brother, not five minutes before, outside the building that housed their father, who had called them both that day to invite them to join him for a drink. Both men knew that they would have to physically walk into their fathers office so that he would actually walk out with them.

The problem for Jamie was that they had to go up eleven floors to reach the office, something that normally wouldn't be a problem for Jamie, on his own, as he would take the stairs but being with his big brother meant that there was no way that he would be using the stairs, thus making it impossible for Jamie to use them without having to explain why and so bringing him to his current tense state.

The two men stepped into the elevator as the doors closed behind them. Danny pressed the button for their fathers floor, while Jamie pressed himself against the back wall, gripping the rail so hard his knuckles were turning white, "So you bust any bad guys today Jamie?" Danny asked, smirking.

"You're a jerk Danny!" Jamie shot back.

"What? I ask a simple question, try to make conversation...I won't try to be interested in future," Danny couldn't help the sly grin that crossed his features - he would never tire of winding his little brother up. He turned towards his brother slightly to guage his reaction, his grin slipping when he saw Jamie's pale face and obvious discomfort.

"You ok kid?" He asked softly.

Jamie straightened himself up slightly, "Yeah, of course I am," he threw back indignantly, "Why shouldn't I be?"

"No reason," Danny decided to leave it there as he could feel an argument brewing. That had not been his intention at all. He had been looking forward to spending some time with his brother and their dad. He and Jamie had been making great progress on becoming friends lately, but Danny had noticed that in the last few months, since Vinny's death, it seemed like Jamie was jumping down his throat at every opportunity. Danny understood why that was happening, but he wanted to help his brother, not be pushed away.

A strange whirring noise, then a clunking sound invaded his musings. Oh boy, that didn't sound good. He kept staring at the display of floor numbers, when, all of a sudden, the elevator shuddered to a stop.

Danny was the first to realise their predicament, as he had been watching their ascent through the floors. He let out a deep breath as Jamie appeared in his peripheral vision, "What's going on?" the younger man queried.

Danny turned to him, "Looks like we've stopped...as in broken down..."

Jamie stared at him...broken down? No, they can't have! Danny was winding him up...wasn't he?

"You sure?" he croaked out.

"Yeah, it looks like we are somewhere between floors 9 and 11."

"Oh God..." Jamie panted, as he spun away from his brother, taking in ragged deep breaths - his stomach had suddenly started rolling and his head pounding.

As quickly as he had turned away, he had turned back round, desperately trying to control his breathing so that Danny wouldn't notice that anything was wrong. He took a step towards his brother, staring intently at the console. He began to push the button for their floor, "Don't you think I tried that?" Danny asked, a frown lining his forehead as it seemed that Jamie wasn't listening. He pressed the button even harder, a degree of panic setting in. Danny tried to stop him, laying a hand on his, "Jamie, stop!"

"We have to do something! We can't stay here!" He all but yelled as he started to pace up and down.

"They will realise soon that it's stopped working and will send someone to fix it," Danny assured his increasingly agitated brother.

"How long will it take?" Jamie demanded.

"I don't know kid," Danny relied calmly, "But I'm sure it won't be to long, it is the P.C's building after all..."

Jamie began pacing once more. He yanked at his shirt collar as he took even more deep breaths, "Geez it's hot in here..."

Danny was beginning to get more than a little concerned about his brother's well being. He was still extremely pale, with beads of sweat standing on his forehead. He looked like he was heading for a full blown panic attack. Danny stepped closer to him, placing his hands on his shoulders, "Why don't you sit down?" He advised, hoping that the younger man wasn't going to fall down first. Jamie stared at his as if he'd just realised that he was there, then slumped to the floor with his head in his hands.

"What's going on with you Jamie? I've never seen you like this..."

Jamie sucked in a deep breath as he ran a shaking hand through his hair, "Geez kid, you're shaking."

"Really? I hadn't noticed!" Jamie shot back, immediately regretting his outburst, "I'm sorry Danny...I'm just a bit..." he trailed off, not wanting to admit to his big brother what was actually going on.

"Scared?" ? Danny finished as he sat himself down next to his brother, who nodded glumly, "Since when? I never..."

"I was about 8 or 9 and Joe, mom and I got stuck in an elevator somewhere - I can't even remember where it was now, but the lights went out...I was so scared Danny. Joe tried to keep me calm - Mom tried to keep us both calm...let's just say that we tried to avoid them ever since," he finished.

"I,m sorry kid, I never knew...about any of you..."

"I'm sure there are lots of things you don't know about me!" Jamie growled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny glanced at his brother with confusion at his sudden change of mood again.

Jamie dropped his head, "Nothing. I'm sorry - I guess I get a little crazy when I'm..." He cleared his throat, " How long have we been here?"

"About 15 minutes," Danny replied, glancing at his watch.

"Feels like hours," Jamie grumbled, "Do you think they know we're stuck?"

Danny pulled out his mobile phone, expecting it to be useless, " One bar - better than I thought..."

"Call Dad, he's the freaking PC - they'll work quicker if the call comes from him!"

"Jamie Reagan as I live and breathe - never thought I'd see the day that you would use our relationship to dad for your own personal gain!" Danny smiled, nudging Jamie on the arm.

"I just want to get out of here," Jamie growled through gritted teeth.

Danny dialled, "Hey dad...yeah we were on our way up but elevator broke down so we're stuck...can you check to see if maintenance have been called...he's ok although I have a feeling that he will be ready for that drink when this is over! They have? That's great - see you in a few." He shut off the phone and turned to his brother, who was now hugging his knees, "Maintenance team have just arrived so it won't be much longer now! Dad said that he'd have a glass of scotch ready for when we get out of here."

"Hope it's a double," Jamie groaned, causing Danny to smile.

A few moments of silence passed, each man lost in his own thoughts, "Do you know the last time I was this scared Danny?" Jamie whispered, surprising himself.

"I think I might have an idea...at the Bitterman houses?" Danny answered.

Jamie swallowed audibly as he nodded, "He was just laid there, his eyes wide open, clutching at his neck. Shards of concrete were flying round him as they kept firing at him. I couldn't leave him there Danny, I couldn't..." Jamie dropped his head once more as he ran a still shaking hand through his hair, over and over. Danny couldn't stand it anymore. He put his arm around his brother and stilled the frantic pushing back of hair. He kept a firm hold of his brother's hand, he wasn't going to let go any time soon. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a forced laugh, "Some Reagan huh?" Jamie mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought I was handling it ok. I can go days without thinking about it, then suddenly I'm back there, scared out of my wits, wishing it would all go away. I guess you and dad are used to it now..."

Danny pulled the younger man a bit closer, squeezing the hand that he still held, " You never get used to it. You should hear what Linda has to put up with sometimes. You're not the only one who gets scared you know kid...I get scared every single day! Do you know what scares me the most?" Danny swallowed hard, " When I hear that there's an officer in distress or an officer down, because all I can think about is you. There are thousands of cops in this city, but when I hear a that call come through...it' like you're the only one out there! I pray to God that it's not you in trouble out there, somewhere where I can't reach you! And before you say anything, it's nit because I don't think you can hack it...I just...well I just can't...lose you! Losing Joe damn near broke me, to lose you...well, it's not an option!" The lump in Danny's throat felt bigger than ever. He heard a sniff next to him, "Do you think I should pack it in? Be a lawyer like I trained? Would that make it easier for you Danny? I don't want you worrying about me every day..?"

"No way kid! You're a great cop - I know this for a fact. Yeah I worry but I will worry about you til the day I die! You're my kid brother, it's in the big brother contract to worry about you - in the small print I might add. Being scared comes to everyone at some time in their lives, you just have to learn to deal with it."

He pulled Jamie even closer then and smiled when the younger man laid his head on his shoulder, just like he used to when they were younger, "I don't know if I ever told you this but I was damn proud of you for what you did for Vinny..."

"You mean cower behind a wall!"

"Jay, that was survival 101. You got your partner out of there and you gave him something that not everyone gets...you were there for him, he wasn't alone - the last face he saw was the face of his friend - I'm sure that would have given him peace."

"I don't know about that Danny, but thanks, I appreciate what you said," he said sincerely. He shuffled around, severing the contact, "I'm glad we're getting on better," he smiled at his brother.

"Yeah me too...oh what's this?" Danny looked round in surprise as the elevator lurched, continuing its journey towards their fathers floor.

"Thank God," breathed Jamie.

A few moments later, the elevator doors opened and Jamie stumbled out, almost falling over himself in his haste to leave the confines of his prison. Danny sauntered out a little more slowly, nodding a greeting to Det Baker as he followed in hurricane Jamie's wake "Is Jamie ok?" Baker asked Danny, not knowing what had just occurred.

"We've just been stuck in the elevator for half a hour, he's a little freaked out," he explained, smiling to himself when he saw her expression become more concerned as she looked at the door the younger Reagan had gone through, "I can sympathize, I hate them too."

Danny carried on into his father's office just as Garrett was pouring his brother a rather large scotch, "Do I get one of those? After all I've been stuck in there too."

Garrett grinned as he passed a glass to Danny. Jamie had lowered himself into a chair trying desperately to steady his still shaking hands so that he wouldn't spill his drink.

"Not sure what was worse for Jamie dad, being stuck in an elevator or having to spend quality time with me!" Danny chuckled.

"Jerk," he heard coming from his brother's direction.

"Well I guess it gave you boys some time to talk to each other..." Frank offered, knowing that it was usually pretty impossible for his boys to find time to spend with each other.

"You could've just got me drunk," Jamie informed them, "I never shut up apparently and even the hangover would be more agreeable than the last half hour...no offense Danny."

"None taken little brother," he said as he raised his glass in his brothers direction, "Perhaps we could get Baker to make a note of that dad, you know, official like," Danny winked at his father, who luckily, cottoned on straight away.

"Yes, maybe..."

"No! There's absolutely no need for that," Jamie shot up out of his seat and faced the three men. He noticed their cheshire cat grins and immediately blushed to his hair roots. He gulped down the last mouthful of his drink "Are we going out or what?"

"You joining us Garrett?" Danny asked.

"Of course he is!" Frank answered for him.

Garrett grinned, "Do I have a choice?" He questioned, glancing at his boss, "I guess not. In that case, I would love to join you Danny."

Jamie was already out of the door, "I'll see you downSTAIRS then!" He strode out of the room closing the door firmly behind him.

Frank kept his gaze on the now closed door, "It really got to him huh?"

"It totally freaked him out. I had no idea. I thought he was going to pass out at one point," Danny swallowed the last of his drink, "He opened up about Vinny and about how he was coping. We felt close in there dad, real close."

"I suppose certain things really do happen for a reason then," Frank summised as he clapped his oldest son on the back.

As they opened the door, Baker was on her feet turning everything off for the night. When she saw the three men, she grabbed a piece of paper off the desk trying to put it in her bag before anyone noticed. She should have known better, "Care to join us Abigail?"

"Thank you sir, but no, I already have plans," she smiled as they made their way out.

She let out a deep breath of relief as they left the office. She took out the piece of paper with Jamie's phone number on it still happily surprised that he had approached her.

"Hey Abigail," Danny's voice drifted into the office.

She looked up at him, a faint blush pinking her cheeks, "Welcome to the family!"

**So there it is. A bit long winded I know but couldn't really figure out where to split it, so I didn't. Let me know what you think, but be kind...I'm sensitive you know. Til next time...**


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